Alex Bovee

Melissa, Lilly and I went to see the elephant seals at Ano Nuevo state park near Santa Cruz last Monday.  Our tour started at 9AM so we left the house around 7:00 just to make sure we would get there in time.  As it turns out, it only takes about an hour to get there if you drive like I do, which meant we had plenty of time to hang around in the lobby area.

We left on our tour at 9 and it took about 15 minutes and a mile hike to get to the official “gate” of the park.  Once there, we were given a brief safety talk, told what we could and could not do, and were then introduced to our docent/tour guide.  Then we were on our way.

The beach where the elephant seals lay around was a short walk from gate.  Along the way, there was some beautiful coastline and a really cool old house on an island about 100 ft from the mainland.  Apparently this island used to be attached to the island before some earthquake.  I’m not sure how great of a place this would have been to live given the elephant seals hang around the house a lot as well, and they’re pretty damn noisy.

The seals were incredible.  We were allowed to get within 25 feet of them, which was close enough to watch them play and hear all there grunts and noises. We had the chance to learn a lot about them on the tour, but some things that stuck in my head as particularly interesting:

• They’re primarily a individualistic species.  Despite spending time together on land to mate, they actually don’t hang around each other at all when they’re in the ocean.
• They only come to the land to give birth and to mate
• The male elephant seals (bulls) get some serious alpha male action going on when they first arrive.  They’ll duke it out with one another for the rights to mate with a “harem” of the females during their time on land.
• The loser males just hang tight away from the harems after they’ve gotten their butts kicked.  They’ll give it another go at being king of the mountain the next year when they come back.
• The baby seals gain about 300 pounds in one month after being born, primarily because their mother’s milk is 50%+ fat!  It’s like drinking half and half sans le cafe.
• They were nearly extinct because of being hunted for their blubber.  Interestingly, this isn’t because they’re blubber is some superior quality or anything like that, but rather because they’re so easy to hunt given they’re not afraid of humans and they won’t run or shy away from them.

Overall, it was a very cool trip and well worth it.  The seals only come on land between January and March, so you have to book the trip to see them during this time.  Also, tickets are sold online and go pretty fast, so definitely book in advance.

Since we’ve never skied Tahoe and we’re looking to get a winter share next year, we were really hoping to check out as many different mountains as possible during 2010-2011 season.  So far, so good.  The first round of trips included Heavenly, Squaw, and Northstar.  I’ll break down the pros and cons of each below.

Heavenly

Pros:

• Amazing views of both Nevada and Lake Tahoe
• Family friendly (aka Daycare for 2 yr +)
• Decent, long runs

Cons:

• Lots of traversing
• Heavier snow (from the Nevada desert breeze)
• Ok terrain

Our Heavenly trip was pretty epic - but mostly because of the team we were heading up there with.  We organized a Chicago Booth reunion which consisted of about 15 folks from San Francisco and a handful of out-of-towners from Chicago and NYC.  We rented an amazing house right near the lake that was about a 5-10 minute drive from the mountain.  The house was absolutely amazing and actually ended up being relatively cheap at about $100 per person for the weekend.  If I’m ever in the market for a 7 bedroom house again, I’ll definitely look this place up first.

The snow and mountain was ok, but not impressive.  Some of this wasn’t actually Heavenly’s fault as the conditions were just completely terrible.  There hadn’t been fresh snow there in about four weeks.  That meant that the groomers and trail runs were decent, but any thing off trail was a literal sheet of solid ice.  I actually don’t think I’ve ever been in conditions that bad.  I’m also not 100% sure, but I hear that this has something to do with the warm breeze from the Nevada side.  Makes sense.

Squaw Valley

Pros

• Diversity of terrain (bowls, gladed runs, steeps, etc.) & lots of difficult runs
• The whole mountain is your oyster
• Mountain location helps keeps snow in good condition

Cons

• Less family friendly
• Shorter runs
• Not many glades

Squaw was pretty badass.  The mountain is definitely all-pro with lots of solid blacks, challenging runs, and obstacled “off-trail” runs.  I say “off-trail” in quotes because there didn’t seem to be any official “trails”, just cleared paths which would eventually run you to a lift.  The black diamonds on squaw were definitely real black diamonds (not the case everywhere in Tahoe).  We never got around to the double blacks because most of them were closed, but I’m guessing they’re also pretty solid.  I was also really impressed that despite not having snow for that long, the conditions were much better than Heavenly.  I think that’s because Squaw is sitting in a little valley between a couple of different mountains and it tends to stay colder there.

The downside to Squaw for me was that the runs seemed to be a bit shorter and there didn’t seem to be many gladed runs.  In fact, the mountain seemed relatively sparse when it came to trees.  That’s not a deal breaker, because everything else was awesome, but it would be nice to have just a little bit more diversity of terrain.  Overall, Squaw was a huge mountain with lots of space, lots of steeps, and lots of great runs.

I’ve also said that Squaw is not “family friendly”, but I should really qualify what I mean by that.  Both Heavenly and Northstar had babysitting, which for us is a real plus when it comes to supporting a family trip onto the mountain.  Squaw did have junior ski classes or something along those lines, but it was only for 3 year olds+, so Lilly wouldn’t be able to come with us unless we rotated taking the day off.

Northstar

Pros

• Great gladed runs, lots of off-trail goodness, lots of long runs
• Really great snow and good conditions
• Close to the highway

Cons

• Insanely busy
• Insanely busy
• “Flatstar”?

Northstar might just be my favorite.  I say “might” because the verdict is still out for a few reasons, but first the pros.

Northstar just had amazing gladed runs and tons of off-trail routes.  If you wanted dense glades, you could easily find it.  If you wanted sparser glades, you could find that as well.  The groomers were also great and there were tons of long, moguled runs.  Overall, Northstar just had great runs, especially for cruising with friends.  We skied the backside during the morning and there were several runs that were moguled for at least 400-500 yards.  It’s pretty thoroughly exhausting.  There was also a mountain in Northstar called Lookout Mountain that has lots of great runs, albeit a little harder to get to (and therefore less busy).  That area was best -hands down.

The downsides of Northstar is that it’s just insanely busy. I’ve never seen so many people on a mountain.  After riding the blue down to the town, Melissa actually commented that she was pretty sure that it was the most dangerous skiing she had ever done in her life.  Not because of the trail itself, but because you were constantly ducking people left and right and skiing around bailed out snow boarders sitting in the middle of the run.  Not fun.  Verdict: stick to slightly more challenging runs on Lookout and the backside where the crowds are thinner.

Two more notes on Northstar:

1. “White Rabbit” - This is a run on the backside of Lookout mountain that drops into the backside of Northstar (I know, confusing).  Apparently it’s supposed to be a rare treat if you can ever do it because it’s closed the majority of the time.  Frankly, I thought it was a little overrated.  The sun hits it in the early morning and it gets crunchy pretty quickly.  Worth doing once, though, if you have the chance.
2. “Flatstar” - Maybe I didn’t hit these runs, but I’m not exactly sure what all this “flatstar” business is about.  There were tons of solid runs that had lots of drop.  I rarely ended up pushing myself across any traverse.  I think this might just be an unfair bad rap.

What’s next?

Overall, I’m pretty impressed with Tahoe mountains.  I was skeptical before coming out here, but for only being 3-4 hours from San Francisco with no plane ticket required to ski, this is a great area.  We’re really looking forward to getting a winter share next year and hopefully squeezing in even more skiing during the season, but first we’re hoping to hit up just a couple of more resorts.  Still on the list are Kirkwood and Alpine Meadows.  I’ve heard great things about both and I’m particularly bullish on Kirkwood as I hear it’s really easy to get to and is a fabulous mountain.  Hopefully we’ll get to try those out before next season so we can seal the deal on season passes early on when they’re still cheap!

Finally found sometime to catch up on blog entires today!  The first of the series of updates from trips over the last few months is of our January trip to Point Reyes.  We found a nice trail called Bear Valley, which apparently also happens to be the most “touristed” (i.e. crawling with tourists).  Nonetheless, the rumor is that this trail is well traveled for good reason, namely, that it’s awesome.  It certainly lived up to our expectations.

We hopped in the car around 8 in the morning and got into Point Reyes park at the Bear Valley trail entrance around an hour or so later.  I would definitely recommend getting there early as we did, because as we learned later, the trail gets really busy later in the day.  As luck would have it though, it was clear when we started.  We ended up passing just a handful of hikers over the course of the hike to the coast.

Bear Valley trail starts at a nice parking/rest area with a big lodge and decent bathrooms.  We jumped on the trail and started heading in with Lilly walking at first, then quickly deciding she’d rather catch a ride on dad’s back.  The walk to the coast was relatively uneventful.  There were some nice clearings with decent scenery and the trail was relatively flat, but overall it was not particularly eventful or spectacular.  The best part of that section, by far, were these trees that were completely covered by moss.  It’s was actually pretty surreal.  You could see how it could happen: the area was really damp and sunlight didn’t penetrate through the canopy very well.  These trees just sat there and collected moss - and when I say that they collected moss, I mean there literally wasn’t an inch uncovered.  Pretty cool.

The highlight of the trek to the coast was actually reaching Arch Rock.  Arch Rock is a small promontory that juts out into the Pacific Ocean and provides an un-parelleled view up and down the coast.  The promontory is probably 100 feet of sheer cliff right up from the ocean.  On a clear day (which we happened to have) you can see all the way up the coast of Point Reyes including the curve of the beach in it’s sickle-like shape.   All of this while listening to the wave’s crash was awe-inspiring to say the least.  We just soaked it up… and then picnicked.

As luck would have it, we had the promontory to ourselves when we first arrived, which meant we didn’t feel bad about grabbing some prime real estate and setting up a picnic.  Needless to say after 5 miles or so of humping Lilly on my back, that was the best tasting peanut butter sandwich I’ve ever had.  

After about 30 minutes of hanging out and eating, we decided to hit the trail again and start to head back.  I really wanted to go back a different way then we came (and maybe do something more challenging), so we decided to head south along the coast, then up the mountain, then back down to the entrance of Bear Valley (see the Everytrail map below).  Well, a challenge is what I wanted and a challenge is what I got.  Lilly was sleeping by now, but it was probably for the better because otherwise she might have thought I was going to die.  She got a free ride straight up the mountain on a trail that zig-zagged back and forth because of the sheer climb.  It seemed like we stopped every five minutes or so to take pictures because the view was absolutely amazing.  As we climbed the mountain, we just got clearer and less obstructed views of the beach, the coast, and Point Reyes.  

After reaching the top of the mountain, the hike was relatively flat but we started to encounter a less welcome experience: mudholes.  Apparently it had rained recently and the water doesn’t drain very well from flat trails.  The mudholes were pretty awful.  We did about every acrobatic trick in the book to try to avoid them, but when the worst was over, we both had soggy socks and muddy shoes.  Luckily these were close to the end of the trail so we wouldn’t have to hike much longer.

A few more miles in and my feet and toenails were killing me so bad (primarily from walking downhill for a few miles with Lilly on my back) that I finally gave in and let Melissa carry Lilly.  About 100 more yards and we dropped in on the Bear Valley trail about 300 feet or so from the parking lot.  So, Melissa got to look like the champ that carried her the whole way - not fair :)

I’d recommend this hike in a heart beat to anyone so inclined to take on some serious physical activity.  I think all in all, it was about 12-14 miles round trip.  I’m not exactly sure because my phone died just shy of closing the loop, but we got most of the path mapped.  I would also recommend getting there pretty early around 9 o’clock or so, like we did.  We left around 1 or 2 in the afternoon and the parking lot was completely packed and the trail looked really busy.  Now I know what people meant when they said that it gets really “touristed”.

EveryTrail - Find the best Hiking in California

We finally made it over to half moon bay a few weeks ago.  Unfortunately, it was a bit too cold to enjoy much of a hike, but, we ran into some excitement involving a grounded ship.  Apparently auto-pilot combined with falling asleep at the wheel is a recipe for disaster.  Noted.

Although a bit overused these days, the adage “Sunlight is the best disinfectant” seems so fitting for Castlight Health that I just can’t resist. The three year old Health 2.0 startup based in San Francisco is taking a page directly from Justice Brandeis’ playbook by shining some light on the historically opaque world of healthcare services pricing and quality. Their web based platform, only available through employers for now, allows users to search for doctor’s visits, lab work, and various other services, with corresponding out-of-pocket cost calculation and quality metrics. With a handful of companies already signed up for the service, a killer management team, and a great technology, they’re going to be a company to watch in the next few years.

Read the rest of my review here on TechCocktail

Log management may not be the sexiest problem in IT today, but it sure is an important one – and Loggly wants to solve it. The company is building a cloud based logging service that takes the pain out of log collection, management, and processing and offers it on a subscription basis. The product is currently in private beta, but will soon be available to the general public (btw –love the signup page).

Managing and parsing log data is a problem that has existed since the early days of computers – though now, on a bigger scale than ever before. Today, even a basic application with moderate usage can generate many megabytes of data on a daily basis on aggregate across the web server, OS, and application layers. This problem only been exacerbated recently as companies have focused more and more on collecting as much data as possible on user interaction and traffic.

Read the rest of my review here on TechCocktail

I just finished listening to Brian Chesky’s talk for Startup School from a few months ago. If you haven’t watched it yet, you’d be well advised to do so (find it here). Aside from being hilarious and entertaining, it also provided a unique view into the will, determination, and scrappiness that it takes to start a company. There were lots of great lessons, but one thing in particular caught my attention: AirBnb’s initial user acquisition model was not scalable.

An Intro to AirBnb

AirBnb is an online marketplace that helps users list and rent their most valuable personal asset: the space in their house (well, now treehouses & boats as well). The company has grown tremendously over the last few years, thanks in part to a great user experience and solid value proposition, but also due to some great marketing. They also have an incredible iPhone app (from what I hear at least, I’m on Android).

As a two-sided network, AirBnB needs two distinctly different users to go to their site: a lister and a renter. They can’t create a transaction without those two parties.

The Unique Challenge of Two Sided Networks

Having been in a handful of investor presentations, a question that inevitably comes up with marketplace businesses is: how will you grow the network? It’s a valid question, but for a startup with just an idea or barely functional prototype, it can also be difficult to answer. The founders of AirBnb had a difficult time building their network, and it’s no surprise: marketplace businesses are notoriously difficult to build. Here are just a few reasons:

• They require coordination: If you build up one side of the network, and not the other, you don’t make money (imagine eBay with lots of buyers and no listings).
• They can be difficult to figure out: it’s hard to get one user acquisition model right, let alone two. Often times, buyers and sellers for marketplaces must be reached through different marketing channels. This means optimizing two sets of user acquisition models. There has been lots of great thinking on how to seed one side of the market first.
• They can be costly: Marketing to both sides of the marketplace costs money. Iterating through your acquisition models costs money. Two-sided networks cost money to build. 

Essentially, building a two-sided network or marketplace business to critical mass means nailing product-market fit, marketing message, and marketing execution for two different groups of users!

The Importance of Non-Scalable User Acquisition

The AirBnb story caught my attention not because it’s the first time I’ve heard of marketplace companies using non-scalable user acquisition methods, but because it’s probably the fifth. Another great example that comes to mind is SitterCity.com. SitterCity is a Chicago based company that has built a two-sided network that helps connect parents to babysitters. Genevieve Theirs, the CEO, tells a story of the early days of Sittercity when initial user acquisition came from papering dorms around her campus with fliers for the service. Was that scalable or cost effective? Probably not. And although I’m sure she had no intention of moving forward with this model, it helped her get in touch with her customers and get immediate feedback on the service as well as provided a solid seed for the network.

Similarly, Brian Chesky and the AirBnb team, after working restlessly to build their two-sided network, were coached to get out and just start meeting with customers. And then something miraculous happened. Through this highly un-scalable process, they signed up new users. But, even more importantly, they learned about their customers and their unique set of needs. A few business model tweaks later combined with the seeded network that they had built, and the company left ramen profitable in the dust.

Get Out and Build your Network

Long story short, if you’re looking to build a two-sided network business, don’t be afraid to just get out, roll up your sleeves, and make something happen. As Steve Blank says in his Customer Development process: “there are no facts in the building; get out and meet your customers”.

I’ve read a lot of great posts recently on the future of wireframes and if the low-fidelity mockup should go the way of the dodo.  In one post, the writer advocates using the technology framework itself for creating a mockup – or in other words, producing web-ready HTML/Javascript/CSS (and corresponding graphics from Photoshop or Fireworks) to create a semi-close-to-real-world model for the end site.  Another post has the perspective that low fidelity wire-framing tools do not provide the modeling capabilities for the interactivity and dynamic nature of web 2.0 sites.  A central theme to both posts is that iteration takes time and that the low/medium fidelity wireframing process adds an unnecessary layer to the design process. 

In general, I agree on both fronts.  I can certainly understand how each of these arguments is valid given a set of circumstances.  However, I do think there are cases in which it still makes sense to produce low-fidelity wireframes.  I’ve outlined these below, but first, some definition:

The “Throw-Away” Mockup – Defined

I’m defining the throw away mockup as a wireframe which, for all intents and purposes, is completely unusable to produce anything that will go in production.  This includes mockups that are just rough drafts done on paper, perhaps designed in powerpoint, or in a rapid low or medium fidelity wireframing tool such as Balsamiq.  The outputs from these tools cannot be transformed directly into HTML, but rather are good for socialization, brainstorming, and rapid iteration.  Their final drafts must later be translated into a production format (images, CSS, & HTML) which can then be staged to a developer.

When would you use Low-Fidelity Design Tools in the Design Process?

There are several reasons why you might want to use low-fidelity design tools to rapidly prototype a design.  Here are a few:

• When the Design Concept is Still a Rough Idea: If you don’t have a good idea of how something should work, it’s probably not smart to dive right into Photoshop. At the early stages of an idea, you’re going to go through lots of iterations.  Redesigning user experience and optimizing interactions takes time, thought, and lots of rework.  Unless you’re a supreme whiz at photoshop and can burn through iterations quickly, you’re probably better off starting on paper and then migrating the design to something more industrial strength later.
• When the site is extremely sophisticated: I recently drafted up some Balsamiq designs for a Health 2.0 consumer web company.  If you’ve ever touched the healthcare space, you’ll know it’s very complicated.  There are lots of data elements and translating user flows into simple, intuitive interfaces requires thought and iteration.  Creating production ready mockups in this case would almost certainly be a waste of time.  Throwing out a fully drafted HTML page with CSS and Photoshop template to boot is costly (both to your time and sanity).  Using a low-fidelity mockup tool helps keep the cost of this rework down to a minimum.  Designing Interactive has a good, short write up on this same point.
• When feedback is critical, but comes after design: In a real-time collaborative environment, feedback is immediate.  Drafting up screen elements and flows on a whiteboard lends itself to instant iteration.  However, there are many times when design is done independently and feedback comes after the fact.  In this environment, collaborators may be much less likely to tear down your design if they believe you’ve put a lot of effort into creating it.  Paper, Powerpoint, and Balsamiq mockups look ugly… and that’s the point.  No one will be afraid to tell you your design stinks if it looks hand drawn.
• When product owners are not proficient with high fidelity design tools:  In most startups, the product is owned by the founders.  Sometimes founders are great with design tools, but that’s just not always the case.  Furthermore, becoming proficient with sophisticated graphics tools is not an easy task and probably isn’t a learning curve you want to tackle when you’re already biting off more than you can chew.  In this case, it’s better to work with low-fi mockup tools to create good enough mockups that you can then collaborate on with designers.

You may notice that three of these four reasons could also be put succinctly: “when you believe you’ll have lots of iterations” (the 4th reason is skill centric).  Before jumping in to create high fidelity wireframes, use this litmus test to think about how much iteration it might take to get the design right and select the right tool accordingly.

New Jersey based startup Opinionaided wants to help you get advice and opinions in real-time. Their platform allows you to pose questions to the world or to your personal network, and crowdsource “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” feedback instantly. Want to know whether to purchase the iPad with 32GB or the cheaper, younger brother? Or, whether it’s worth heading to the movies to watch the new Harry Potter movie? Snap a picture, type in a question, and submit the data using Opinionaided’s iPhone app or website. Within minutes, feedback starts rolling in from friends, family, and the world…

Read the rest of my review here on TechCocktail

Hotpot, Google’s new product for local search and recommendations, was released a few days ago to mixed reviews.  Some were great (Mashable) and others were less than stellar (Wired, GigaOM, SEW).  Personally, I like the idea behind Hotpot and think there’s potential.  Personalized recommendations for places to go to, businesses to patronize, and interesting things to do is something that would add a lot of value to my life.  Furthermore, since Google has a plethora of personal and user behavior data, they’re uniquely positioned to provide accurate and interesting recommendations.  Gmail, for example, is a holy grail of information about my personal preferences, hobbies, and passions.

Given the mixed reception, I sat down and thought up a few ideas on how Google could improve Hotpot.  Here they are:

Idea 1 – Call out the Benefit

aka: What’s the Catchphrase?

Hotpot needs to clarify the value proposition and benefit for consumers.  I felt like this was missing both at signup time and within the application.  The signup page says: “Start rating now with Hotpot”.  That sounds like work.  Yuck.  What’s in it for me?  Once you’re inside the application, it doesn’t get much better.  Hotpot’s catchphrase is … well, there isn’t one.  Under the search bar it says: “by Google Places”.  The first flip card says: “Recommendation for here or to go”… I’m not sure what that means.  Conversely, a glance at Yelp’s homepage yields the following catchphrase: “Real People, Real Reviews”.  That doesn’t sound like work and I understand the value that’s in it for me.  Hotpot needs to do a better job of explaining what it is and how it’s going to make my life better.

Idea 2 – Provide Immediate Value:

“Now eventually you might have dinosaurs [recommendations] on this dinosaur tour [recommendation engine]?”  Dr. Malcolm, Jurassic Park

Google has access to a plethora of my information via gmail, buzz, and a host of many other services that I use.  But once I was on the Hotpot site, I sat and scratched my head wondering exactly where the recommendations were on this “recommendation” engine.  It wasn’t intuitive even after rating a handful of businesses.  I spent my first 5 minutes clicking star ratings for several of the businesses that I recognized, but nothing seemed to get better. No additional businesses popped up.  No changes in my existing card set happened.  After a handful of reviews, I wondered what the heck I was doing. It took me logging back in a few days later before I actually saw any recommendations.  Hotpot should start providing users with valuable recommendations from the first click.

Idea 3 – Focus on User Experience:

“Think in Flows, Not Screens” Jason Putorti

Right now, the only flows in Hotpot consist of signing into the application, clicking reviews, and clicking businesses.  This experience feels awkward and stuffy - like I’m interacting with a databot whose job is to suck valuable review information out of me and shove it into a large database.  Hotpot is Google places with a weak social (friend connect), game mechanic (leaderboard), and input/recommendation engine (flipcards) layered on top.  The application could be dramatically improved by focusing on user engagement and flow.  Hotpot could initially ask a user to select a category of business they would like to explore.  The user could then scroll through that category and spend time on things that are relevant and meaningful to them.  That would also help avoid situations where a user is presented with completely irrelevant places.  After six reviews, I was surprised to get a card for: “Encinal High School”:

I’m not in high school.  I just graduated with my MBA from Chicago.  My little one is 2 years old and unless she turns out to be a Doogie Howser, MD, she won’t be in high school anytime soon either.  Hotpot needs to design flows that maximize value for the user and engage them relevantly.

Excited to See What’s Next

Despite some shortcomings, Hotpot did a lot of things right on this release.  Signing up for the service was painless and easy.  It’s layered on top of Google places and uses Google authentication, so if you already have a Google account, it’s just a few extra clicks to get started.  I was also really impressed with the review aggregation functionality.  They’ve sourced reviews from several different locations and boiled all of that information into an easy to understand, 5-star based review system.  Awesome.

All that said, Hotpot is certainly no Yelp killer and will need some work to better engage users.  Some of these changes will be small tweaks, such as clarifying their marketing message for the application.  Others will take substantial investments in time and money.  It will be interesting to see what Hotpot does next.